Pope's Astronomer Would Baptize Aliens: "in what has to be the height of anthropic assumption and human arrogance, the official astronomer for the pope, Guy Consolmagno, told Great Britain's Guardian that he would be willing to baptize space aliens, but 'only if they asked' to be baptized. 'Any entity – no matter how many tentacles it has – has a soul', he told the newspaper".

"Don't ask the British taxpayer to subsidize the propaganda mission of an institution whose wealth is measured in the tens of billions: wealth for which the phrase 'ill-gotten' might have been specifically coined. And spare us the nauseating spectacle of the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and assorted Lord Lieutenants and other dignitaries cringing and fawning sycophantically all over him as though he were somebody we should respect"

"Nobody could call Benedict XVI saintly and keep a straight face. Whatever this leering old fixer may be, he is not saintly. Is he intellectual? Scholarly? That is often claimed, although it is far from clear what there is in theology to be scholarly about. Surely nothing to respect"

We stood in the windy city,The gypsy boy and I.We slept on the breeze in the midnightWith the rain droppin' tears in our eyes.And who's going to be the oneTo say it was no good what we done?I dare a man to say I'm too young,For I'm going to try for the sun.We huddled in a derelict buildingAnd when he thought I was asleepHe laid his poor coat round my shoulder,And shivered there beside me in a heap.And who's going to be the oneTo say it was no good what we done?I dare a man to say I'm too young,For I'm going to try for the sun.We sang and cracked the sky with laughter,Our breath turned to mist in the cold.Our years put together count to thirty,But our eyes told the dawn we were old.And who's going to be the oneTo say it was no good what we done?I dare a man to say I'm too young,For I'm going to try for the sun.Mirror, mirror, hanging in the sky,Won't you look down what's happening here below?I stand here singing to the flowers,So very few people really know.And who's going to be the oneTo say it was no good what we done?I dare a man to say I'm too young,For I'm going to try for the sun.We stood in the windy cityThe gypsy boy and I.We slept on the breeze in the midnight,With the rain droppin' tears in our eyes.And who's going to be the oneTo say it was no good what we done ?I dare a man to say I'm too young,For I'm going to try for the sun.

19 September 2010

A TER SEMPRE PRESENTE

"Stupidity is infinitely more fascinating that intelligence. Intelligence has its limits while stupidity has none. To observe a profoundly stupid individual can be very enriching, and that’s why we should never feel contempt for them". (Claude Chabrol)

15 September 2010

WANTED (II)

We, the undersigned, share the view that Pope Ratzinger should not be given the honour of a state visit to this country. We believe that the pope, as a citizen of Europe and the leader of a religion with many adherents in the UK, is of course free to enter and tour our country. However, as well as a religious leader, the pope is a head of state, and the state and organisation of which he is head has been responsible for:

Opposing the distribution of condoms and so increasing large families in poor countries and the spread of Aids.

Failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation.

The state of which the pope is head has also resisted signing many major human rights treaties and has formed its own treaties ("concordats") with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states. In any case, we reject the masquerading of the Holy See as a state and the pope as a head of state as merely a convenient fiction to amplify the international influence of the Vatican.

"An ice cream company banned from using an advert showing a pregnant nun has vowed to defy regulators by placing similar posters along the route of the Pope's London visit. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced today it had banned the ad for the Antonio Federici brand for making a mockery' of the beliefs of Roman Catholics.

The advert, which appeared in The Lady and Grazia magazines earlier this year, showed the heavily pregnant nun standing in a church holding a tub of ice cream and a spoon, with text stating 'Immaculately conceived' and 'Ice cream is our religion'. Ten readers complained that the advert was offensive to Christians, particularly those who practised Catholicism. A spokeswoman for Antonio Federici said the company intended to defy the ban by publishing another advert portraying 'a continuation of the theme'.

She said: 'We intend to defy the ASA's ban and will publish another advert from the series before the Pope's visit later this week. We are in the process of securing a series of billboards close to and along the planned route of the Pope's cavalcade around Westminster Cathedral' (...) The ASA banned another advert for Antonio Federici in July last year that showed a priest and a nun looking as though they were about to kiss". (artigo integral aqui)

"Meanwhile, the picture of two men in cassocks and clerical collars, embracing with their lips inches apart, bears the words ‘we believe in salivation’. (...) British firm Antonio Federici said the adverts celebrated the ‘implied forbidden Italian temptations’ of the ice cream. Creative director Matt O’Connor said the company would lose a substantial sum if it had to pull the campaign and was considering a legal challenge. He said: ‘Only a tiny proportion of those who have seen the ads have made complaints. They seem to be upholding the views of a bigoted minority over the majority’". (artigo integral aqui)